Eco-Friendly Home Features To Consider In 2021!

This post is provided by Luca Yates.

It is 2021, and there is no longer any excuse as to why we cannot live more eco-friendly and considerate lifestyles. Even the smallest of adaptations to our lives can make a difference, be it eating less meat, installing solar panels, or having a compost bin in the garden. However, not many of us are aware of these changes and how impactful they can be. 

If you are a homeowner, there are many small changes you can make to your home so that you can live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. These changes do not need to be expensive either, but if you have the finances to make larger adaptations, it can be a great return on your investment as it could power your home and lower your utility bills, for example.

Read on for a list of eco-friendly home features that could make your home modern, but also much more environmentally friendly. 

Invest In Products That Are Made From Recycled Materials

You may need to invest in and buy new furniture or products for your home. However, buying new products does not necessarily need to be considered wasteful. Nowadays, you can buy products made out of eco-friendly materials or materials that have been recycled, reducing the waste and labor needed to create the products.

One amazing way to bring in products made from recycled materials is through decking materials. You may wish to have a decking installed in your garden - and why not? It is a wonderful addition to a home! However, you may worry about your carbon footprint. Fortunately, companies such as Ecoscape offer beautiful composite decking panels that not only look sleek and clean, but are also made up from 55% reclaimed wood fibers and 45% recycled HDPE. By investing in products from companies like Ecoscape, you are getting the best of both worlds: a wonderful decking that can improve the value of your home and make you enjoy your garden more, but decking that also reduces your carbon footprint due to the eco-friendly nature of the materials.

Have A Compost Bin

There are various benefits of having a compost bin. Not only does it add nutrients to the soil and help plants grow and photosynthesis, but it can also help plants retain water and repel certain plant diseases due to the presence of specific microorganisms. However, other benefits include the compost being a viable place to recycle certain food waste, reducing the amount of rubbish that is in your home and being thrown in the bin, only to be taken to landfill. Although your food waste will decompose in the landfill, this still takes time and can cause landfills to expand in nature. Rather, you should be using the nutrients coming from the decomposing food for your own garden!

Furthermore, composting is free! Rather than spend money on fertilizers that are a) costly, but also b) only available in stores, a compost is easily accessible and also more environmentally friendly than the factory-made chemicals. Your plants will be a lot happier and thrive with an all-natural compost!

Install Double Or Triple-Glazed Windows

While you would expect most houses to have at least double glazing installed, this is not necessarily the case. Many homes still only have single glazing, and this can be wasteful. Single glazing can increase your property’s utility bills due to the heat loss you will experience. This means you may need to use more power keeping your home warm during the colder months, but this power will also be lost due to the lack of insulation your home has. 

Besides the benefits of energy cost savings and staying warmer during winter and cooler during summer, other benefits of double or triple-glazed windows include:

Less condensation (reducing the amount of moisture collecting on your window panes)

Less noise pollution (your home will be quieter, which can be wonderful for homes placed on busy main rounds or in cities)

Install Skylights

You may be wondering how skylights can be sustainable. Are not they simply windows in your ceiling? Well, skylights can offer sustainable improvements to your home because they provide a great source of natural light that can warm up your home when the sun is directly above your house. Ideally, you will want to place a skylight on the southern part of your home so that your house can be warmed up the most during the winter. Plus, you will want a skylight that is made with wood, fiberglass or vinyl window frames so that there is a reduction in draughts. When your home also becomes too warm, your skylight becomes a great way to cool down your home.

There are several ways you can make your home more eco-friendly. By making these little changes, you can make a world of difference, and although some may be expensive and considered an investment, you are likely to experience a reduction in energy bills, meaning you are also getting a return on your investment.